


Finding Answers

by kikibridges13



Series: History in the Making Series [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Multi, Order of the Phoenix AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-08-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 19:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3622095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikibridges13/pseuds/kikibridges13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU OotP. Sequel to History in the Making. After telling Harry about their past, Sirius and Remus begin to pick up the pieces. Sirius searches for his lost family and Remus finally discovers answers to Liz's death, both discovering that sometimes its best to bring up the past. RL/OC, SB/OC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Search for Cassie

To the muggles roaming the streets near Grimmauld Place, they didn't paid attention to the large, black dog that sat in between buildings 11 and 13. With no collar, they figured he was a stray, and would make up a random excuse when children would beg and cry to take him poor dog looked ratted and like he hadn't had a bath in days, and there was no way they would ever allow such a filthy creature into their home.

Fortunately, none of them could see what the dog could see. They didn't see a building push its way from between the two odd numbered ones, a plaque at the door showing a golden '12,' nor did they see the gate shoot up from the ground in front.

The dog continued to sit until the street became less crowded, then made his way to the steps of Number 12. If a muggle had been looking out their window, they would have for a fraction of a second saw the dog turn into a man, and then simply disappear from sight.

Inside Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black quickly and quietly shut the door, and close his eyes for a second. Four months before, his childhood home had been alive with action, from the Weasley twins making Molly Weasley's life miserable to Ron and Hermione's constant bickering. He was the happiest he had been in a long time. He had Harry around, and was able to relive the best years of his life.

Ever since Sirius and Remus had told Harry about their time at Hogwarts, about Cassie and Liz...along with James, Lily, Severus, and Rose, it had sparked Sirius to try and find his wife and daughter, Robyn. Despite Dumbledore's protests to stay within the safety of Grimmauld, Sirius would sneak out as Padfoot and roam the small areas around London. But so far, he had no such luck in finding his missing family. Now, halfway through the month of January, he was was more determined than ever before.

Sirius made his way down to the kitchen of the house, hearing several voices speaking as he got closer. He couldn't help but refrain from groaning when he heard Mad-Eye Moody. He knew as soon as he made his presence known the ex-Auror would tear into him for leaving. Bracing himself for the 'constant vigilance' speech again, he entered the kitchen.

"Black, where have you been?" Just as Sirius had predicted, Moody was the first to notice his return to the room. He looked around, spotting Remus, Kingsley, Tonks, and Bill Weasley sitting around the table.

"Just went out for air," Sirius muttered as he walked behind Moody, and took a seat across from his best friend. He avoided Remus's questioning look and looked up at the other members. "What's going on?"

"If you need air from now on, open a window," Moody said gruffly, ignoring Sirius's question. "You know Dumbledore's orders, Sirius. He said you were not to leave the house until-"

"Until they could manage to prove my innocence, I was there, Moody. It's been almost three bloody years, and I don't think it's happening any time soon."

He glanced up at Kingsley, who was in charge of finding him and bringing him back to Azkaban. The Auror looked away from his fellow Order member and down at the newest edition of the  _Daily Prophet_.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked again.

"Voldemort's planning something big. We don't know what yet, but we think it has something to do with Azkaban," Tonks said.

"Two Death Eaters came into Gringotts today," Bill Weasley spoke up. "I overheard them saying something about 'the Dark Lord being reunited' and that's all I managed."

"So…you think he's going to break his old followers out?" Sirius asked, thinking about his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. He could feel the hatred he felt toward her bubbling up just with the mention of her name.

"That's what we're thinking," Moody said. "A raid will go down later tonight, that is if we can get confirmation from our spy whose watching the place."

"Let me guess…"

"Sirius, you know Dumbledore's direct orders. You are not allowed to participate in raids."

"It's for your own safety," Tonks added.

Sirius didn't respond but instead glared down at the table as the rest of the Order members discussed the raid that had been planned. His let his mind wander until they left, leaving him and Remus at the table in silence.

"Where exactly have you been going?" Remus suddenly asked. Sirius looked up at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"You usually listen to Dumbledore's orders, and here lately…you've been sneaking out of the house more than usual. Ever since Christmas."

"Did Dumbledore suddenly appoint you my keeper?" Sirius snapped. He expected the mollycoddling from the rest of the Order. He thought Remus of all people would be on his side.

Remus glared at Sirius. "I'm just curious."

Sirius sighed, letting his shoulders slack in defeat. "I've…been looking for them."

Remus looked at him confused for a second before it dawned on him who Sirius was talking about. "Sirius, I've been looking for Cassie for almost 16 years," Remus finally said quietly. "If she wanted to be found, she would have let us know by now."

"I can't give up, Moony," Sirius muttered, looking down at the long kitchen table with a tired sigh. "After all these years, I can't lose them too."

Remus nodded and the two Marauders fell silent. Both knew what each other was thinking…it was hard to believe of all the people they had lost. When they all had left Hogwarts, their group had stayed together; James, Lily, Remus, Liz, Sirius, Cassie, and even Cassie and Liz's best friend Rose. Now…it was just the two remaining Marauders. To them, Pettigrew didn't exist, seeing as he was the reason a big portion of their extended family had been torn apart.

"I know what you mean," Remus admitted quietly.

Sirius knew he was referring to accepting Liz's fate. For months after her disappearance, he kept hope that one day she would come home. Even though many believed that she was gone (and many of them had believed Dumbledore when he said his spies at the time had seen Liz meet her demise), Remus never fully accepted that. Sirius was sure that even 16 years later Remus still believed in the back of his mind that Liz was still alive.

"I just don't understand," Sirius said. "Where had she gone?"

"She could have moved from the country completely," Remus said. "If that's the case, we'll never find her."

"There has to be a way. Maybe there is some kind of trace they can put on wands, you know, like the one we had on us before we were 17? I mean, if Ollivander can remember ever wand he's ever sold and they can track down her wand..." He looked at his best friend, his brother-in-law with a hopeful look.

"We can ask Kingsley about it tomorrow," Remus promised.

About that time, the fireplace lit up in green flames and Bill Weasley stumbled out. "Alastor says the raid is a go," he said. "He's requesting your help, Remus."

Remus shot his best friend an apologetic look as Sirius crossed his arms and let out an audible sigh. "We'll talk about this more tomorrow, okay? There may be a way to find out if her wand as been used. If not I'm sure it would be a nice project for somebody to work on."

Sirius nodded and watched as Remus following Bill through the fire grate, leaving the former Gryffindor to let his mind wander back to the last time he had saw his wife and daughter…

* * *

_October 31, 1981_

Sirius apparated outside of his and Cassie's house, his hair and robes drenched from the rain that began to pour. He was completely numb, but not from the weather. There was no way…it had to be a nightmare. What he just witnessed…it wasn't real.

He opened the door and entered the living room. Cassie and Robyn were in the middle of the floor, Cassie helping their daughter build a toy replica of Hogwarts. Robyn was still wearing the white unicorn onesie she had worn out for her Halloween costume earlier that evening. Cassie looked up at him, the smile on her face at the little toddler in front of her fading. She stood up, making sure Robyn was occupied in her blocks and made her way to Sirius.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Sirius looked at her, a lump forming in his throat. He couldn't say it out loud. Why did he have to be the one who had to tell what had happen? Why did he have to say it when he didn't even think it was real?

Cassie looked at him in concern, taking a step closer to him. "Sirius…what happened?" she asked, this time there was a small amount of fear in her voice.

"It's James and Lily, Cassie," he whispered. "Voldemort found them."

He didn't need to say anything else. Cassie put the missing pieces together, and covered her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. "Oh, my God…" she whispered.

"Harry's still alive. I don't know how, but he survived," Sirius continued. He was so in shock, he couldn't bring himself to mourn the death of his best friend. "Hagrid took him to Dumbledore…"

"But, you're his godfather," Cassie protested. "He supposed come to you, to us."

"Dumbledore gave Hagrid direct orders to take Harry to where he was waiting. I…I lent him my bike. I won't need it."

It was if he had made up his mind right there. His mind automatically began to seek out revenge. He knew that Peter was responsible. Peter, who was supposed to be their friend…who Sirius had thought Voldemort would never suspect. He'd been playing them this entire time. The betrayal was starting to bubble inside like lava.

Cassie looked at him with a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"I need you to promise me something," he looked down at Cassie, and took her hands into his. "Whatever you hear…whatever happens, I want you to take Robyn and hide. Get out of this house, out of the country if that's what it takes. Tell her…" the lump in his throat began to tighten. "Tell her that I love her, okay?"

"Sirius, you're scaring me," she whispered. "What are you going to do?"

"I have to make this right. This was all my fault. James and Lily…they're dead because of me. I have to fix this. I'm going after Peter."

"No." Cassie shook her head and wrapped her arms around him, forgetting the fact he was damp from the rain. "No, Sirius, don't do this. I can't lose you, too. Please."

Hearing her pleading voice almost broke his resolve. He ran a hand across her cheek, making her look up at him before kissing her deeply, trying to put all of his love and affection he had ever felt for his wife into it, knowing that it would be the last one for a long time, if not forever. He broke away from her, feeling his eyes beginning to sting from the tears that threaten to fill them.

"I love you, Cassie…never forget that. I will always love you."

"I love you, too, Sirius, but please, think about this." Tears of her own filled her eyes as she looked at him pleadingly, silently begging him to stay.

"I have," he answered. He looked over at Robyn, who was still occupied with her blocks. She never noticed he had returned home for the last time. He couldn't bring himself to say goodbye to her. He felt the tears that were already threatening to fall would if he had to tell his daughter goodbye.

He looked at Cassie one last time, leaning up and kissing her on the forehead before pulling away and walking out the door.

* * *

 


	2. Regrets and Revelations

Sirius didn't heed to Alastor's warning of staying inside. If anything, it fueled his determination to find Cassie and Robyn. He replayed the night Lily and James died in his mind for 12 years in Azkaban, and every night since. He never talked about the fate of Cassie with Remus, despite being her older brother. But after another unsuccessful search, he found himself alone with the lone werewolf in the kitchen after an Order meeting.

It was becoming habit between the two best friends that they would wind up with a bottle of firewhiskey on nights that Remus wasn't on duty. Ever since talking to Harry at Christmas, they would settle into the routine, drinking and reminiscing about their past. Sirius knew deep down that Remus was drinking away his pain, just like Sirius was. But unlike Sirius, Remus knew there was no hope of ever seeing his wife again.

It was one of those nights and after a couple glasses of alcohol, Sirius brought up that fateful October night.

"What happened after?"

Remus looked up from twirling the ice cube in his glass and up to Sirius with a look of confusion. "After what?"

"After I went after Peter. You never told me."

Remus swallowed and sat down his glass. "After it was announced that Voldemort was dead and you were captured, I was angry," he admitted. "Not just for thinking you had double crossed us or that Lily and James and Peter were gone, but I was angry for Cassie. Mind you, I didn't know you were innocent. But I had gone to your place to make sure she and Robyn were okay. She was in the process of packing. I thought she'd been out of the loop too, and had just been trying to defend you, like she always did."

He gave a short bitter laugh, and Sirius was afraid to hear what happened next. "You two had a row?" he asked quietly.

"She was trying to convince me that you were innocent and you wouldn't have done what you did without a good reason." Remus picked up his glass and shakily poured another round. "I thought she'd gone mad."

"You thought she was talking about Lily and James?"

Remus nodded and quickly wiped his eyes. "I wasn't in my right mind myself, Sirius. I had just lost three of my friends, I was still reeling over the fact it had been a year since Liz...and I thought you were a murderer. I don't remember exactly what I said to her, but it was horrible. I know that I accused her of being involved and then we were both yelling at each other. She kicked me out. When I went to apologize the next day, they were already gone."

He downed his drink before setting it back down on the table harder than he meant to. Sirius looked down at the table in silence. No wonder Cassie hadn't stayed in touch. She thought her brother hated her and he had been in prison. One best friend was presumed dead and the other had sunken down into such a stupor that not even Cassie's optimism could make a difference.

"I've replayed that moment in my mind for years," Remus croaked. "I don't think she would forgive me even if we did find her."

"Once she knew the truth was in the open, I think she would," Sirius said. "She's had a few years to calm down."

Remus gave a strangled laugh. "At least she'd be proud that her optimism rubbed off on you."

"It was contagious." Sirius gave a small smile. "I just want to know they're safe. I would be at peace if I just knew that she and Robyn were happy, wherever they are."

Remus nodded, clinked his glass with Sirius's and the two downed the rest of the firewhiskey, lost in their thoughts.

* * *

Sirius and Remus didn't talk anymore about that Halloween night. They did continue their drinking binges of nostalgia, at least until Molly Weasley had taken their bottle of alcohol and poured it down the drain. After a quick sobering charm and a lecture on acting like adults and wallowing in their past, the two Marauders realized they had sunken into their memories and weren't paying full attention to the present.

So the two best friends decided to leave most of their past where it belonged. Sirius was still adamant of finding Cassie and Robyn, though.

A few weeks later, as January faded in February, Sirius arrived after another unsuccessful search as Padfoot in time for another Order meeting. He ignored Alastor's growled warning and flopped into his usual chair, avoiding everybody's gaze.

The few Ministry workers who were in the Order arrived, including Kingsley Shaklebolt. "Ah, Shacklebolt," Moody barked. "Since you are the one in charge of finding Black, perhaps  _you_  can remind him how important it is to stay indoors!"

Before Kingsley or Sirius could reply, Remus spoke up, glaring at Moody. "Maybe if Alastor had a family that he hadn't seen in over 15 years, he'd understand why Sirius has been risking his safety!" he snarled.

"What the hell has gotten into you, Lupin?" Moody snapped back. "I'd expect this from Black, but not from you!"

"Maybe you've forgotten that Sirius was  _married to my sister!"_ Remus shouted. "Excuse us for wanting our family back!"

There was silence at the table. While everybody currently in the Order were either from the first war or knew their past from family members who had been involved last time, it was almost an unwritten rule among them that Liz or Cassie were never mentioned.

About that time, Dumbledore arrived with the Hogwarts leg of the group, and the tension melted away for the moment. As he took his seat, Kingsley slid a folder to Remus. "That's everything I could find in the archives, Remus. It hasn't been updated in years, but...I hope it helps you out."

Remus nodded and stared down at the folder. He caught a glance from Sirius, who gave a curious look before indicating down at the folder. Remus shook his head and mouthed, " _Later,_ " before trying to focus on what Dumbledore was talking about. It was a relatively short meeting, with the Hogwarts Headmaster asking for volunteers to take Arthur Weasley's patrols since was still recovering from being attacked by Voldemort's snake a few weeks earlier. After Sirius and Severus had their short argument on making sure that he wasn't torturing Harry with his Occlumency lessons, the meeting dispersed, leaving the two former Gryffindors alone.

"What in the folder?" Sirius asked quietly as Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and Bill Weasley returned.

Wordlessly, Remus pushed the folder to his best friend. Tonks and Bill sat the other end discussing Gringotts business while Mrs. Weasley cooked. She only looked up when Mr. Weasley came into the kitchen and sat beside his eldest son. Sirius looked at the top of the folder, noticing it was an official Ministry file. Inside on the top of the first piece of parchment was the missing persons report that had been filed for one Elizabeth Mallory-Lupin.

Sirius swallowed and looked at his best friend. Remus continued to avoid his gaze as he finally spoke. "Something keeps bothering me, Padfoot. I just have this feeling that there's something we missed."

"Do you think they may have missed something and discarded her case?" Sirius asked.

"Considering the people who were in charge back then?" Remus scoffed. "I doubt Barty Crouch, Sr. even  _opened_  a case."

Sirius saw the same hope and determination in Remus's eyes that he was positive could be found in his own. After years of being alone and apart from their loved ones, both Marauders were clinging onto any shred of hope they possibly could.

"Remus, it's been 15 years, do you really think she would still be alive?" Sirius asked. "I mean, even after Dumbledore had confirmation that–"

"I just have a feeling," Remus said, cutting him off. "Something is telling me...she's still out there."

Sirius knew the logical side of him was saying there was little chance that Liz would ever be seen again. There were so many people who had gone missing from the first war that had never been found. But the side of him that wanted to support his best friend told him that he needed to have faith and trust what Remus was saying.

He just hoped for Remus's sake that his search had a positive outcome.

* * *

A few days later, Sirius was helping Remus sort through some of the old files that Alastor had kept from the first war. They were written in the same way that Auror's wrote their mission reports at the Ministry, which was a clear indication that the ex-Auror himself had a hand in the assignments back then. They were looking at reports that had been filed during the time that Liz had left for her mission, but were having no luck in finding out any new information about what happened between the last time that Liz had checked in with her correspondent and when she had went missing.

"Who was supposed to meet her again?" Remus said, shuffling papers, "I swear to Merlin if that thing says Mundungus Fletcher I'll curse him six ways from Sunday."

"Calm down, Moony," Sirius said, also going through the papers. They both knew how reliable Mundungus was, and was notorious for misleading information and sneaking away from his posts to make some kind of illegal exchange. "Here. The person on duty that night was Fabian Prewett."

"Bloody hell," Remus breathed, but Sirius could hear a small sigh of relief in his voice. Fabian had been somebody who was trustworthy and could count that his reports were thorough and precise. Molly had always said that's where Percy's drive had come from, but ever since the third oldest Weasley had abandoned his family, nobody mentioned it.

"Sorry, Remus," Sirius said quietly.

Remus sat back in his chair, tossing the quill that had been in his hand onto the table. He ran his hand through over his face and closed his eyes. The nagging thought in the back of his mind told him not to give up, and he had thought his heart had moved on. Apparently that hadn't been the case. The discovery of her final letter at Christmas break had just brought everything back. Cassie had once joked that the two were soul mates, but being teenagers at the time, he had brushed it off. Now he was starting to think he had his chance at true love and had it taken away from him in the blink of an eye.

"What if all this is pointless," he said outloud. "What if I'm just reading into things too much?"

Sirius looked at him, eyebrows raised as if to say, 'Are you kidding?' Instead of making his friend feel any worse than he already was feeling, he tried the optimistic approach. "We just have to keep looking, Remus. Maybe we should extend our search to muggle records."

Remus looked at him confused. "And why, pray tell, should we do that?" he asked, his tone tired and bitter. They had been going through these files for days, and he didn't want to add any more.

Sirius glared at him. "Because, genius," he said with the same snippy tone, "If she had her memory modified or something, then maybe she was found by the muggle police or hospitals and they took care of her."

Remus sat still for a second, looking at his friend like he'd just recited Hogwarts: A History from memory. That thought had never occurred to him. "I never thought about that," he replied dumbly.

"I didn't think it had," Sirius quipped, shuffling through the papers again. He hadn't meant to get angry at Remus, but after the werewolf had been out of commission as he recuperated from the past full moon, he had continued to research as well as sneak out and search for Cassie, and he was also at his wits end.

A few minutes later, Remus sighed. "I'm sorry, Sirius," he apologized quietly. "I shouldn't have snapped."

"You're stressed," Sirius brushed it off. "We all are. It's okay."

"That's still not an excuse."

"Remus, it's fine."

"No, it's not. Maybe I shouldn't have even brought this up again, I should have just accepted it and –"

"Remus, if you do not shut up, I am going to lock you into Buckbeak's room with a box of chocolate until you calm down," Sirius threatened. "Now, for the last time,  _it's okay._ "

Remus fell silent again as Sirius continued to go through the reports from June, July, and August of 1980. After a few minutes, Remus spoke up again. "I'll ask Kingsley tomorrow if he can help pull muggle records," he said. "He works with the muggle prime minister's office, he would know where they keep those files."

Sirius nodded, also leaning back into his chair. "What brought this up, anyway?" he asked. "I mean, I thought at Christmas, you were ready to finally move on."

Remus sighed. "I don't know. After we talked to Harry, and I read her letter, it was like...like some kind of gut feeling. It was something I hadn't felt in years, since Dumbledore had told us that she'd gone missing. There was something that just kept telling me that she was still alive." He paused, trying to find the right words to say. "I know this sounds odd. The night that James and Lily died, I just got this horrible feeling that something was wrong. It was the same feeling I had gotten when my mother and father passed. Like some part of them was trying to warn me that they were gone. And I never,  _never_  got that feeling when Liz was... you know."

Sirius knew exactly what Remus was talking about. It was the same foreboding feeling that he had gotten that fateful October night that prompted him to go to Godric's Hollow.

"I know what you're talking about." Sirius nodded. "And if you firmly believe that Liz is still out there, well, I'll do my best to help you find her."

Remus shot Sirius a grateful look and nodded. "Thanks, Padfoot."

"You'd do the same for me. Now, get back to researching, slacker."

Groaning and sitting back up, Remus went to the shuffle a few papers around when there was a sudden slam of the front door, the wail of Mrs. Black's portrait, a rush of steps, and Bill Weasley appeared. "Remus, you have to come quick!" His robes were singed near the bottom and his long hair had came out of the ponytail that he kept it in during work. "The breakout! It's happened!"

Sirius and Remus exchanged a look. They both knew it was too dangerous for Sirius to join in the battle. "I'll keep looking," he said. "Go."

Remus nodded and pulling out his wand, followed Bill, who had run back the way he had entered. "Where at?" Remus asked as they stepped outside the boundaries of the charms around Grimmauld Place.

"Right outside London, in Twickenham. You know where it is?" Remus nodded and Bill apparated. Concentrating on his destination, he apparated to the village.

The Order seemed to be fighting a losing battle. There were double if not triple the amount of death eaters, teaming up against each member. Kingsley and Tonks did manage to take down five or six of them with Mad-Eye. He was sure he had heard the unmistakably cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange, which confirmed the breakout that Bill had mentioned. As he ran forward to assist the nearest person, a rouge spell caused him to roll to the ground.

He looked wildly around for the person who sent the curse at him and was met by a masked figure. Remus assumed by the death eater's short height that his opponent was female, but considering that she was aiming to kill him, Remus felt no sympathy in cursing her back.

He sent a cutting hex toward her, which she easily dodged. As she spun around, the death eater shot a well-placed stream of red and blue sparks at him. Remus's reflexes weren't as quick as his opponent's, and dove to the ground. That had been a mistake. With the full moon only being a couple of days behind him, Remus had still been recuperating. He was struggling to his feet when he heard the voice shout, " _Crucio!_ "

His guard had already been down having to roll on the ground, and the curse hit him before he could defend himself. His knees buckled from where he had been getting back to his feet. It was the worst pain he'd ever been in, worse than his transformations, worse than when he felt the day he thought Liz was gone –

And then, as soon as it started, the torture was over. He collapsed to the ground, trying to catch his breath and focus on anything other than the soreness that was setting up in his bones. Looking around, he noticed the death eaters had disappeared with the arrival of Albus Dumbledore. The death eaters that had been captured were bound by anti-apparation manacles with Kingsley, Tonks, and Mad-Eye dealing with other members of the Ministry who had just arrived. Bill Weasley was nursing a gash on his upper arm, and several other Order members were limping. But from what it seemed, nobody had died.

"Remus!"

Suddenly, he was being lifted to his feet by Bill Weasley and Kingsley Shaklebolt. "What did you get hit with?" Bill asked. "You're white as a ghost!"

"Cruciatus Curse, but I'm okay," he said. He felt like hell, but he hadn't lost the color in his face because of the curse itself, but the voice who had cast it. He hadn't heard that voice in 15 years, but he knew he hadn't imagined it. He knew nobody would believe him if he said anything, and would brush it off as something he had imagined.

Because there was no possible way that Elizabeth Lupin could have been the one who cursed him.


	3. Memories Revealed

"You had to be imagining things, Moony."

"I wasn't. It was her."

"Remus –"

"I know, Sirius, but that voice...it sounded like  _her._ "

Two hours later, the two Marauders were in their usual spots at the kitchen in Grimmauld Place. Kingsley, Tonks, Moody, and a few other Order members who were involved with the Auror and Magical Law Enforcement departments were attempting to assist with the breakout of Azkaban. Dumbledore had asked for an emergency meeting to take place as soon as they were finished. For the time being, it was only Remus, Sirius, Molly, Arthur, and Bill in the kitchen.

"I don't know who she was," Bill cut in, sitting down across from the other two, "but I had never seen somebody fight like that, other than Mad-Eye. And she gave him a run for his money before the rest of the Order arrived."

"Even if it was Liz," Sirius continued, and Remus could hear how skeptical he was in his voice, "how did she learn to fight like that? Cassie always said Liz was rubbish at dueling in school."

"Maybe she was under the Imperious curse?" Bill suggested.

"Even then it wouldn't effect their dueling ability," Remus answered, shaking his head. "This person was trained."

The three of them were silent for a moment before Molly brought over a tray with cups of tea, handing one specifically to Remus. "I've mixed a pain-relieving potion in yours, Remus dear, it should help with the after effects."

"Thanks, Molly." Remus gratefully took the cup and took a sip. The effects of the potion took the edge off the pain, but it still lingered. He took another sip, which seemed to satisfy the older woman as she went back to bustling around the kitchen once more.

"You going to be okay, Moony?" Sirius asked as Moody, Tonks, and Shaklebolt entered, leading several Order members into the kitchen.

Remus nodded. "Give me a couple of days. Recovering from transformations and the Cruciatus curse don't exactly match."

"You should have never went in the first place," Mrs. Weasley said in passing to her own seat, giving her son a look. Bill sheepishly looked away.

"Sorry, Remus," he said, as his mother continued to glare. "Moody wanted everybody, and it never crossed my mind you were still in recovery from the full moon."

"It's okay, Bill." Remus smiled a genuine smile to assure the young wizard. "I would have gone even if you hadn't come to fetch me. Some people just worry too much."

"And what do you mean by that?" both Sirius and Molly replied, which sent Bill and Remus into a fit of laughter. A sudden, sharp pain in Remus's lungs made him stop laughing and caused Sirius and Molly to both push his cup of tea toward him, which caused the two to glare at each other while Bill laughed in the background.

The calmed down as Dumbledore entered the room, and looked to the old man expectantly. He gave a small, tired small as he sat down, something that was rarely seen. It was a testament to how the war was already start to wear everybody down.

"We're just waiting on one person, and then we'll begin. How are you feeling, Remus? Bill?"

Somehow, by some miraculous feat, only Remus and Bill suffered serious injuries. As all the eyes (including Mad-Eye's magical blue one) turned their heads toward the two, Bill shrugged. "Could have been worse. Got the gash patched fairly quickly, thanks to Tonks. It'll be a few weeks, but I'll manage."

Dumbledore nodded and looked at Remus, who also shrugged. "I'll survive, Professor," he said. "Molly and Sirius will make sure of that." The two glared at him, causing Bill to stifle his laughter as the rest of the table chuckled.

"I'm sure they will," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. A movement at the door took his attention. "Ah, Severus. We weren't sure when to expect you."

Everybody's attention averted to Snape, who walked around the table to the nearest empty seat. "The Dark Lord insisted we all stay for the re-initiation of his old followers, Headmaster," he said.

"I figured as much," Dumbledore replied.

"And let's here what the great Order spy has to say tonight," Sirius muttered under his breath. Tonks elbowed her cousin in the ribs, but as Dumbledore asked Snape about the night's events, Remus found his thoughts drifting.

" _From the spies within the Order, she was forced by Voldemort into questioning..."_

" _We got word today from our spies...they said they tried to infiltrate...she's gone."_

Dumbledore's words had haunted him for years, and he had never put the two together.

There hadn't been two spies or three during the first war. Dumbledore had worded it that way to make sure he didn't figure it out.

It was Snape.

Snape had been the one who confirmed Liz's death, who had seen her being revealed as the spy that night.

Something snapped. Remus didn't realize it had been an actual object until he felt the tea that had been in his now broken glass dripped onto his robes. He had been squeezing his glass to tight that it had shattered. Snape had stopped talking and everybody was looking at Remus in concern.

"Remus, are you sure you are alright?" Dumbledore asked in concern.

Remus nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He scourgifed the tea and his robes as Molly repaired the cup and quickly went to fix another cup and sat it down in front of him. Remus ignored the concerned looked that he was getting and tried to focus on the remainder of the meeting.

"Severus, will you please continue?" Dumbledore asked, and the attention returned to Snape.

"After the Order tried to interfere at Twittenham, all of the Dark Lord's followers returned to his headquarters," Snape said. "Those who had been in Azkaban since his first fall in 1981 were rewarded. A few prisoners who hadn't possessed the dark mark and had wished to join him were also initiated tonight."

Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you, Severus." Snape nodded and shot Sirius and Remus a smug look as Dumbledore's attention was taken from him as Mad-Eye spoke up. For once it wasn't Sirius who was clinching his fists underneath the table, but Remus. Sirius raised an eyebrow at his best friend, but held his thoughts to himself as Dumbledore spoke again.

"I'm sure this will be in Daily Prophet tomorrow. I would think that something as big as a breakout at Azkaban is too important for the Ministry to try and deny. We should start reaching out to those who will be most effected by this breakout. People who were victims, lost loved ones, or were remotely threatened by the escaped death eaters, let those know we can help protect them and see if they would be willing to fight. If Voldemort is starting to build up his followers, it's time we have started to do the same."

The meeting dispersed soon after and Sirius looked at Remus as there was a commotion of members leaving the table and making their way to the floor and the front door. "What the hell was that?" he asked lowly so nobody else could overhear.

Before Remus could reply, Dumbledore's voice broke through the chatter. "Severus, I need you to stay for a second, if you please." As Snape hung back as the rest of the Order filed out of the room, Remus took his opportunity. Despite his body's protest, he jumped from his seat and before anybody could react, had slammed Snape into the wall and had his wand at his throat.

"Remus!" Several people yelled, but he stayed still, glaring daggers at the man in front of him.

"It was you that confirmed it, wasn't it?" he snarled.

"What the hell has gotten into you, Lupin?" Snape yelled, struggling to get away.

"It was you! You were the one who told Dumbledore that night!"

"You've obviously been addled by too many transformations," the Potions master sneered, which just caused Remus to push his wand into the man's throat farther.

"Remus, let him go!" Sirius and Kingsley both tried to pull the two apart.

"Not until he admits it!"

"Lupin, you're not making any sense. Release Severus," Kingsley said.

" _You were the spy who told Dumbledore Liz had been captured!"_

There was definite silence as Snape stilled for a second, but didn't show any kind of emotion or confirmation of Remus's words. Sirius and Remus finally managed to pull the two men apart, and Dumbledore stepped between them to make sure no more incidents happened.

"Remus, what has gotten into you?" Moody asked. "You're not youself, man."

"Well, it's not everyday you find out your wife may still be alive," Sirius snipped with a glare at the ex-Auror.

"Don't get an attitude with me, Black."

"Enough, Sirius, Mad-Eye. Perhaps an explanation is in order," Dumbledore replied. "Remus?"

Remus lowered his wand and his shoulders slacked. "I think Liz is still alive," he admitted. "So I've been looking into her disappearance and...tonight after the breakout, I swear she was the one who cast the Cruciatus Curse on me."

There were mixed expressions in the room. Most looked skeptical, a few looked astonished, and the rest looked like Remus had finally lost his mind.

Only Dumbledore and Snape seemed to confirm what Remus was saying. As Remus went to raise his wand again, Bill and Sirius forced Remus into a chair and Dumbledore looked at Severus.

"I think a recount of that night's events will help put things into persepctive," Dumbledore said, looking at Snape expectantly.

Snape leaned up from the wall he'd been pushed again, and looking at Remus, reluctantly recounted the memory.

"The Dark Lord had summoned us late one night for an unexpected meeting..."

* * *

Snape apparated outside of Voldemort's headquarters at the same time that Lucius Malfoy had arrived. The two nodded in acknowledgment as they donned their masks.

"Do you have any idea what this is about?" Lucius asked.

"Does the Dark Lord really nee a reason to call us?" Snape asked. "Perhaps a mission has risen and he needs us."

But as they reached the barren piece of land where they had stood so many times before, they saw they all had been summoned. Glancing at each other, the two entered the circle, taking their assigned spots. Snape looked around, noticing that all were attendance. There were no hostages in sight, which he didn't know was a good or bad thing.

As the final few death eaters closed the circle, Voldemort stood in the center, looking around. "My servants, I'm sure you are wondering as to why I called you at such a late hour." Each member wisely held their tongue. "It would seem that lately several of our raids have been thwarted by Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix. While I'm positive that nobody would dare turn against me, I do believe we have a spy in our midst."

Snape was positive that his heart almost stopped. There was a murmur among the circle, and Voldemort held up a hand to silence them. He walked around, looking at each of his followers, as though studying. As he stopped in front of Snape, he stood perfectly still, silently praying, wishing –

Voldemort pointed his wand not at Snape, but to the trees above their circle. There was a popping sound, a rustling of branches, and a thud as something hit the ground. "Lucius, Rudolphus, bring this spy to me," he commanded.

The two death eaters stepped out of the circle and dragged a woman in front of Voldemort holding her up. The fall had apparently done something to the girl's leg. Rudolphus grabbed a handful of her hair, forcing her head up, and Snape felt his heart falter again at the sight of Elizabeth Lupin.

"Well, well," Voldemort said. "Who do we have here?"

Liz didn't speak, but struggled against the two death eaters despite her broken leg. Lucius spoke up, addressing Voldemort. "My Lord, I believe she is Elizabeth Mallory, now Lupin, who is a Ministry correspondent for the Daily Prophet," Malfoy said. "She was in charge of writing about the confirmed servants who had been sent to Azkaban."

"And an unregistered owl animagus? Tsk tsk, a Ministry employee should know better." Voldemort paced in front of her as Liz glared at him. "So you have been the one to leak the locations of my attacks, has it?" She refused to speak, which angered the dark wizard in front of her. "You will answer me!  _Crucio!_ "

Liz's screams filled the air outside the majestic mansion that stood nearby. Voldemort released the curse from the woman, whose knees had given out and Lucius and Rudolphus were struggling to keep her upright.

"Are you part of Dumbledore's Order?" Voldemort demanded. "How long have you been intercepting my letters?" When Liz still refused to answer, she was put under the Cruciatus curse again. Lucius and Rudolphus released her as she was tortured, until Voldemort released her again and demanded for her to be picked up.

"You have a fighting spirit in you," Voldemort said. "That, or you're completely stupid. I've yet to decide which. Do you care to speak now?"

"Go to hell," Liz managed to ground out. Snape felt like any other situation he would have rolled his eyes, but he had to admit the former Hufflepuff had guts to talk to Voldemort like that. She was rewarded with another Cruciatus Curse, and was kept under the spell until her voice went hoarse and she was on the verge of unconsciousness.

Voldemort smirked. "Lucius, Rudolphus, take this...thing up to the mansion. Bellatrix, you go with them. I'll want to interrogate her further, and I believe that with some convincing, we can use her to our advantage. So I expect her to alive, Bellatrix. "

Bellatrix stepped forward with a gleeful cackle as Lucius and Rudolphus dragged the limp girl toward the mansion. Snape could only watch in confusion and slight guilt as Voldemort dismissed the remainder of his followers.

* * *

The others in the room had gone silent, looking between the two, ready to stop any kind of altercation that was about to happen. Remus had gone pale at Snape's recount of the night Liz disappeared.

Instead of rounding on Snape however, Remus jumped back to his feet and rounded on Dumbledore. "You mean to tell me," Remus growled. "That the entire Order searched for  _weeks_ , and I searched for  _years_  when he knew the entire time where she was? And you never thought to ASK HIM UNTIL  _NOW_?!"

Dumbledore bowed his head. "At the time, Remus, we had only known she had disappeared," he said. "Severus was deep undercover and couldn't release too much information. I honestly did not know, nor did I think to ask once the war had ended."

"I did try to get your wife out, Lupin," Snape added, glaring at the werewolf. "But the Dark Lord always had a guard around her to ensure there was no escaping or rescue possible. The Lestrange Mansion at the time was under a Fidelus Charm, and I had no idea who the secret keeper was. So before you try to curse me or kill me, do remember I did attempt to bring her back."

"And you didn't think to tell Remus  _after_  the war ended?" Sirius asked angrily.

Snape glared at Sirius. "Funny, I didn't think this involved  _you_ , Black," he snapped.

"Liz was Cassie's best friend, you greasy, sodding excuse of a human being! So was Rose! Don't you think there were other people who would have needed some kind of closure?"

Remus felt rooted where he stood as Sirius and Snape started to yell at each other. All of this new information, and thinking back on all of the attempts to find Liz and find out what had happened to her, and the answer had been at Hogwarts all the time with Snape. He didn't know exactly how to feel. There was anger, of course, and feeling slightly stupid for never putting two and two together for never figuring it out before now.

"Always thinking about yourself, as usual, should have expected nothing less out of you, Snivellus." Sirius was saying.

"You're one to talk, Black, getting yourself locked up and taken away from your entire family because Potter decided to trust the wrong person."

"Enough!" Dumbledore's voice rose over everybody else. Snape and Sirius stopped yelled at each other, but continued to glare.

"Headmaster, I think it would be best if we resumed our conversation at Hogwarts," Snape said, aware that many people in the room were now glaring at him.

"Yes, I think that would be wise." Dumbledore nodded. "Remus, I know today has been a trying time. Perhaps some rest will do and we'll discuss this later when tempers have calmed down."

Sirius suppressed a snort, but Remus nodded. He stood up and walked past everybody, feeling like he was in a catatonic state. He stopped outside the door for a second and turned toward Snape. Once again before anybody could react, his fist contacted with Snape's nose with a sickening crunch. As Snape gave a startled yell and his nose started to pour blood, Remus continued on his way upstairs, wanting to do nothing more than wake up from the nightmare he found himself trapped in.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Voldemort would have more than likely killed Liz instead of holding her hostage, but I need her alive in flashbacks for plot reasons, so just bare with me, okay? And I know Dumbledore probably had more than one spy in Voldemort's forces, but once again, for plot reasons, Snape is the only one in this tale.
> 
> Thank you to all the people who have favorited and decided to follow this story! Since this is AU OotP, some aspects of later chapters of that novel, as well as HBP and DH may or may not exist in this verse. So expect to see Harry and Sirius communicate again soon, and not through a fireplace.


	4. Falling Pieces

Between the full moon, the battle at Twittenham, and the shocking blow that Severus had known all along about Liz, Remus had fitfully tried to sleep on and off that night. When he had woken the next morning, feeling like he'd drunk his way through London, Molly Weasley ordered him back up the stairs with a dreamless sleep potion. That evening after the potion had worn off, his body was feeling remotely better. While his mind was still attempting to accept what was happening around him, he forced himself to go downstairs, not really wanting to deal with the looks of concern he was bound to get.

Sure enough, as he entered the kitchen, Sirius and Molly looked at him, trying to size up how he was feeling. He didn't mind those two looking over him, actually. Sirius had been doing so since their third year when his friends discovered he was a werewolf, and Molly generally had a motherly attitude toward everybody in the Order. He could have done without the looks of concern from Tonks, Kingsley, and Moody, though.

"How are you feeling?" Molly asked as he sat heavily in the chair across from Sirius.

"Much better, Molly," he replied. "Thank you for that potion."

"It was no problem, dear." She smiled warmly at him. "After taking care of seven children for so long, I can't help but fret when I see somebody going through any kind of pain or grief. I hope you'll forgive me for meddling."

Remus brushed it off with a wave of his hand, thankful for the light conversation. "I think some of us could use that attention. Merlin knows if you hadn't been here, I would have tried to carry on this morning. Sometimes we need a reminder to take care of ourselves. So thank you."

Mrs. Weasley patted his shoulder before continuing on her way. Sirius glanced over at him, still looking concerned.

"You sure you're okay, Moony?" he asked.

Remus nodded, and pulled a cup of tea toward him. "Still sore, but I'll manage."

"I mean, about what you learned last night."

Remus was quiet for a few seconds, and everybody at the table watched the pair carefully, positive they would have to stop the werewolf from visiting Hogwarts to do more than punch Severus Snape this time.

"I'm still processing it," Remus responded quietly, and most of the table seemed to relax and go back to their own conversations.

"Are you going to talk to Dumbledore?" Sirius asked. "The least the old man can do is tell you the truth."

Remus shrugged. "Something tells me that Dumbledore still won't give me the entire truth," he said, taking a sip of his tea. "Hell, Snape probably didn't tell him the entire story, either."

"Then maybe we should find somebody old Snivellus can't lie to," Sirius suggested.

"Let me know when you find that person."

"Well, we don't have to look far. She runs the apothecary in Diagon Alley."

It took Remus a moment to realize who Sirius was talking about. "I haven't spoken to Rose in years," he said, shaking his head. "Not since Liz's memorial service. And Severus probably hasn't spoken to her longer."

"Damn, I forgot they had a fallen out when she found out Snape was following Voldemort." Sirius sighed. "Can we do anything to make him tell the truth?"

"We have a better chance of finding Cassie," Remus scoffed. "Have you been searching?"

Sirius shook his head before bowing it. "Not lately," he admitted. "And now that the breakout has happened, I probably should stay around here for a few days."

Remus nodded. "I'm sure Mad-Eye will be happy to hear that." Down the table, Moody scoffed, listening to their conversation. "Have you heard from Harry yet?" he asked in a quieter tone. "You gave him the Two-Way Mirror, didn't you?"

"I think he may have forgotten, I did give it to him last minute. I know his mind was still reeling over everything that went on at Christmas," Sirius said. Remus could tell by his best friend's tone that he was trying to hide that he was upset. "I feel terrible, Moony. I offered the boy freedom from Dursleys at the end of his third year and I've barely spent time with him since. Lily and James would be cursing me left and right for mucking up my responsibility as godfather, among other things."

"I don't think so." Remus shook his head with a sad smile. "Lily would just hex you for being dramatic, tell Cassie, and let her hex you some more." Sirius couldn't help but laugh. "It's not your fault, Sirius. We trusted the wrong person. Cassie listened to you to protect your daughter. I know that, Cassie knew that, and I'm sure Harry knows that, too."

Sirius nodded, but stayed silent. Remus felt a slight guilt of his own, never really having talked to his best friend about this before. Until they had talked to Harry, Remus assumed Sirius had accepted things as they were and was trying to move on.

"The worst part is, I can't even bloody write him to remind him," Sirius finally said. "That damned Ministry hag has everything checked."

"Even if we managed to get a cryptic message to him via owl post, there would be a chance somebody could intercept it."

"Dumbledore wouldn't pass along a message, and I know Snivellus would wash his hair before attempting to help us." Sirius sighed. "Maybe a message to Ron or Hermione would be inconspicuous?"

"I dearly hope you're not planning on passing Marauder secrets to Potter, Weasley, and Miss Granger," came a voice behind them. "They get into enough trouble as it is."

"We'd never dream of it, Minerva," Remus said to their former Head of House. "Rather, I wouldn't. I can't speak for Sirius."

Sirius didn't reply, but looked at McGonagall like she was an answered prayer. "You can help us!" he exclaimed.

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at Sirius, and Remus had the sudden feeling he was sixteen, about to receive detention. "I am not helping you pass on the Marauder legacy, Sirius Black. Your godson has done well enough to break his father's detention record on his own."

Sirius looked proud, and Remus finally caught onto Sirius's statement. "No, Minerva, we were actually trying to find a away to get a message to Harry past Umbridge's search." At the mention of Delores Umbridge, McGonagall scowled. "Sirius gave him a late package and we fear he may have forgotten about it."

"This package doesn't include a certain way you three managed to keep in contact during your detentions, does it?"

"Haven't got a clue what you're talking about." Sirius grinned, but then looked at her pleadingly. "Is there anyway we can bribe you?"

"Find a way to rid Hogwarts of Dolores Umbridge and I'll smuggle you into the castle as Padfoot," McGonagall muttered darkly. Remus and Sirius looked at the Deputy Headmistress with a shocked expression.

"Never thought I'd see the day," Sirius said.

Not wanting to press their luck, Remus continued. "If one of us gave you a message, could you see he got it?"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "I'll deliver it to him personally. I could keep him after Transfiguration, it's the only time he's not under...certain surveillance."

Remus and Sirius nodded. "Perhaps a charm where only he can read it, just in case," Remus added.

"We can just add a post script for hi to burn the message after he reads it." Sirius said.

"True."

"I'll go write a quick note." Sirius stood from the table and left the room, while McGonagall took the empty seat.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Unfortunately, I couldn't aid with the battle last night. Dolores would have gotten suspicious if three staff members had not shown for dinner."

"I'm better." Remus was getting tired of answering that question. "I'm sure you've heard about my run-in with Severus?"

"Ah, I figured it had been Mr. Black who had done that damage." Remus was sure he had seen the corner of McGonagall's mouth twitch upward. "Do you really believe she could be alive after all of these years, Remus?"

Unlike the tones of suspicions and skepticism, Remus was relieved to hear a tone of hope. "I really do," he answered. "Sirius and I lost so much those few years after school...everybody did. It would be nice to know that not all had been as lost as we thought, you know?"

McGonagall nodded. "You've managed to keep hope this long, don't lose it now." She smiled a wistful smile. "I just can envision what Hogwarts would have been like had both Mr. Potter and Miss Black were both attending. I honestly don't think the castle could have handled those two and the Weasley twins."

Remus laughed. "I shudder to think how Gryffindor House would have managed alone," he said as Sirius came back into the kitchen, holding a small scroll of parchment, and handed it to McGonagall, who had stood up.

"Thank you, Professor," Sirius said as he handed it to her.

"Sirius, you haven't been my student in 18 years," McGonagall chuckled. "You can call me Minerva."

"Habit," Sirius said sheepishly. "At least Remus broke it."

"We, we were colleagues for a year," Remus replied. "You get used to it."

"I'll make sure Mr. Potter gets this as soon as possible." McGonagall held onto the scroll tightly.

"You won't be found out will you?" Sirius asked. "We don't want Hogwarts to lose one of their best professors."

McGonagall smiled. "Once you go through an entire day under Dolores Umbridge breathing down your neck, you're ready to seek out Fred and George Weasley and aid them and Peeves with their brand of destruction." She bade them farewell, leaving the two former Gryffindors to to gaze after their former Head of House with great admiration.

Despite sleeping for most of the day, Remus was ready to pass out after dinner. Whether it was from his body still attempting to catch up with the past few days or Molly Weasley's insistence of second and third helpings, the werewolf slept through most of the night.

A few days later, he trudged down to the kitchen. It had been a quiet few days, and to keep from having Molly fret over him or having Order members watch him like he was going to go off like a time bomb, he had spent most of his time either taking shifts for the Order or roaming the streets of London. After dealing with the usual threats from Kreacher (thankful Sirius wasn't around), he made a pot of tea before sitting at the table, spreading out the contents of Liz's file in front of him. Now that he had a free moment to himself, he started to think about everything that had happened since the fight at Twittenham.

He was so positive that the death eater's voice had been Liz's. Remus had heard that voice almost everyday for four years since they had gotten together in his sixth year, how else could he have remembered it so clear? In the short six months they had gotten to spend their marriage, Remus knew there had been days Liz would come home from work angry about something, so he would let her yell and rant until she felt better.

To be a Hufflepuff, the woman had had a temper.

Shuffling a few papers around to pull his thoughts back to the present, he stopped at the last piece of parchment Mad-Eye Moody had added to the Order file. October 4, 1980. Confirmation from sources that Lupin was taken, killed by Voldemort. Unable to recover body. Location of demise unknown.

That passage was what confused Remus. It should have been enough for the werewolf to accept his wife was gone. After all, if the source (and Remus clenched his fist and found the urge to hunt down Severus Snape) had said she was dead, he must have seen it happen.

Unless Severus was just told in passing, Remus thought, shifting the papers around some more. It's possible that he was told that to avoid suspicion. Somebody must have known the two knew each other. Peter knew, maybe he had told Voldemort.

It was that thought that had kept Remus hoping for 15 years. He sure as hell wasn't letting go of it now. He put the file back together, giving up in learning any more information from the pieces of paper inside it. As he closed the folder, there was creak of a step behind him. Turning quickly, wand out, he relaxed at the sight of Sirius.

"Easy, Moony, it's just me."

"Sorry," Remus lowered his wand and sat back down. "Habit."

"I should have been graceful like Tonks and knocked something over on my way down." Remus snorted as Sirius sat across from him and summoned a clean cup to him. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep," Remus replied, pouring another cup of tea for himself. "Besides, being up this early meant I had some time to myself to sort...things."

Sirius glanced down at the closed file between them. "I can return upstairs if you want," he said quietly.

Remus shook his head. "I'm fine now, Padfoot. There's not much I can do with these." He pushed the file a little farther from him. "I've read over it so many times I've probably memorized it."

"What are you going to do now?"

Remus shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea. It's not like I can beat the answers out of Severus." Sirius scoffed and muttered a disagreement. "I'm sure there will be another battle, and we'll face off or some kind of confrontation will happen."

Sirius suddenly looked worried. "But are you prepared for that, Remus?" he asked. "If it comes down to your life or hers, are you willing to –"

"To what?"

"Do whatever means necessary to survive."

Remus looked at him with a blank look. Then it dawned on him. If he and Liz were to ever get into a duel, and he knew it was her, would he be willing to harm her, or even kill her?

"Yes," he answered, but there was no confidence in his voice.

"If you're sure that she's alive, what do you think they've done to her?" Remus paled suddenly, and Sirius gave him an apologetic look. "Bloody hell, I'm sorry, Remus."

Remus shook his head and let out a shaky breath. "I just don't like to think about it," he answered. "Too many nightmares."

"I should have known better, though. I spoke before I thought."

"Let's just...change the topic. You never said what you wrote Harry." Remus pushed his empty cup away from him to keep from breaking another one.

"I just told him to remember the package I slipped him before he left for Hogwarts," Sirius said. "I also warned him not to use it outside his dorm, and to put a silencing charm around his bed before calling. At the end I told him to burn the parchment."

"Hopefully McGonagall gets to give it to him today." They had received a letter from McGonagall that she had to delay giving Harry the letter since Umbridge had sprung a surprise inspection on the professors. It was taking all of Sirius's willpower not to smuggle a list of pranks to the Weasley Twins to help make the Hogwarts High Inquisitor's life a living hell.

Remus nodded. "When he calls tonight you may want to tell him to hide it when not being used. The last thing we need is for that mirror to get into the wrong hands."

"Good thinking. I figured he would be returning to his dorm after dinner, so that gives me some time to start looking again."

"I thought you were going to give it a few days," Remus said.

"I have."

Remus scoffed. "Mad-Eye is going to hang you himself."

Sirius grinned and banished the empty cups and kettle to the sink. "He'd miss me too much," he said. "It's only for a couple of hours. I'm sure that a few people will either be at the Ministry or back asleep before they realize I'm gone." He looked at Remus with a pointed look.

"I'm not going to go back to sleep," Remus muttered.

"We'll see," Sirius called as he made his way toward the front door.

Sure enough, an hour later when Molly came downstairs, Remus's head was in his arms, resting on top of Liz's file, fast asleep.

Sirius wasn't having much luck himself. Not only had he managed to escape dog catchers and a kid who had almost succeeded in dragging him home, but by the time he had returned to the park he discovered by a secondary school, it had started to drizzle. He took refuge underneath the merry-go-round, and by the time school had let out, the rain had stopped and he moved to the bushes outside the school door. He watched each student carefully, listening for names.

After the students had dispersed, Sirius sighed inwardly. There were hundreds of schools in the city. And there was no guarantee that Cassie thought about enrolling Robyn into school. He stood up from the bushes and shaking the water droplets from his fur, made his way back toward the park. He was getting ready to make plans to return to Grimmauld Place and search another school tomorrow when the sound of laughter caused him to turn around.

A handful of students, most likely involved with some muggle after school club had exited the schoolhouse. In the middle of the group of laughing students, was a girl. She had long, light brown hair, similar to what Remus and Cassie's had been when they were younger. He was now too far away to see her eye color, but Sirius felt like he was staring at a younger version of her wife.

The girl was still laughing at something her friend was saying, until she glanced at where Sirius was now standing. She called to her friends, "I'll see you tomorrow," and explained she left something inside the school. There was a collection of goodbyes (which none of them called her by her name, much to Sirius's dismay) and the girl dashed back into the school.

Sirius waited with baited breath for the girl to come back out, but after 30 minutes, she never returned. Figuring she had another way out of the school, Sirius was forced to give up and return to Grimmauld Place. His mind was racing. He was pretty sure that he had just found his daughter. She looked so much like Cassie it was insane. She had even tucked her hair behind her ear like Cassie used to do out of habit.

If it hadn't been Robyn, why had she darted back into the school? Surely Cassie would have told their daughter about the Marauders and his animagus for. She must have panicked, Sirius thought wildly. But wouldn't Cassie had told her that he had been innocent? After all, she was the only person besides Lily and James who had known he and Peter had switched a month prior to Voldemort's attack.

Of course she would have, a voice argued in his mind. You're jumping to conclusions, Padfoot.

He wasn't even sure it had been Robyn. As far as he knew, the girl had been deathly afraid of dogs or had actually left something inside the school.

His thoughts continued to drift to different conclusions as he made his way up the steps of Grimmauld Place, and after he transformed back to his human self and cast a quick drying charm on his robes, made his way down to the kitchen. Only Molly, Arthur, Remus, and Kingsley were in the room, much to his relief.

"Sirius," Kingsley greeted. "You'll be happy to know, I informed the Minister today that one of my sources said you were spotted in Greece."

Sirius grinned. "You know, I have always fancied a trip to Santorini." He flopped down beside Remus, was looking a bit groggy. "You fell asleep, didn't you?"

"Sod off, Padfoot," he yawned. "At least I'm finally feeling back to myself." He pulled a singular piece of Honeyduke's best chocolate out of his pocket and popped it into his mouth. "Any luck today?"

"I...I think I found Robyn." Sirius said, and he couldn't help but feel like his heart was going to jump out of his chest at the words.

Remus sat up in his chair, eyes wide. "Where? How do you know?"

"A muggle secondary school, not too far from here. She saw me, and she darted back into the school. She must have known another way out of the building, because she never came back out." Sirius smiled. "I swear, Remus, it was her. She looked like a splitting image of Cassie."

Remus looked at him, an expression of wonder and hope on his face. "Did you ever hear her name?"

"No." Sirius looked slightly crestfallen. "All of her friends she was with never said her name. Bloody kids."

Remus laughed. "How many times did we ever say goodbye to each other and say our names?"

Sirius shrugged. "Got a point. Even if they did, Cassie probably pulled an old Order trick and signed her up with an alias. That's why we probably haven't found her."

"Are you going to try to reach out to her again tomorrow?" Remus had the same hopeful tone and look he had when he talked about Liz still being alive.

"I have to try. This is the first lead we've gotten in well...ever."

"You may have to postpone that reunion," Mad-Eye limped into the room with Tonks, Mundungus Fletcher, and Billy Weasley. "We've gotten word that a couple of Voldemort's followers plan on meeting to exchange something in a village not too far from Hogsmeade. Lucius Malfoy and that Yaxley bloke were overheard down near the Department of Mysteries, the fools."

"You're going to try and head them off, then?" Molly said, her hands wringing in the washcloth she was holding. It was something many of them noticed she did when receiving bad news like this.

"That's the plan. Malfoy said there would only be about five of them, so we won't need the entire guard. Arthur, I'm sorry, but Dumbledore feels you're still in recovery from Christmas and needs you to stay put. Sirius, that goes for you too."

"Surprise, surprise," Sirius grumbled.

"Lupin, goes for you too."

"What? Why?" Remus said angrily.

"You're too close to this situation now."

"Like hell I am." Remus stood up. "If this is about stopping as many Death Eaters as possible, then I'm going to help! Whatever means necessary!"

"And do you have the means to stop somebody you think could be your wife?" Moody shouted. "Even if that means killing her?"

Remus glared at him. "If I have to," he ground out.

Moody scoffed. "I've seen stronger wizards in the past freeze and lose their minds because they were too close to the cause, Lupin. If she's imperioused, there's no hope for her."

"I'm going," Remus challenged. "If there's only five of them, there's no guarantee that she'll be one of them."

"It's your head, then," Moody snapped, and let the group to the door. Remus and Sirius shared a look, obvious their conversation from earlier was on their minds.

"Tell Harry I said hello if he manages to call," he said lowly. "At least you'll have that to look forward to." Sirius nodded, and Remus followed Kingsley and Bill to the door. He was just praying to any god that was listening that if Liz was alive and being controlled by the other side, he would have the strength to face her without dying himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, I think this is my longest chapter to date. I'll try to keep that up.
> 
> I had more planned out for this chapter (another attempt at a battle) but since I've already had one chapter end with a fight, I don't want to overdo it. And yes, Sirius may or may not have found his daughter. Why did she run when she saw him? You'll have to stay tuned to find out, won't you?
> 
> I was so angry that Harry never used the Two Way mirror in Order of the Phoenix. And since this is AU of that book, I figured I'd change it up a bit.
> 
> Please review to let me know how you feel about the story so far!


	5. Reunion Gone Wrong

Since they weren't familiar with the place they were supposedly going to intercept the Death Eaters, the Order members used Side-Along Apparation with Moody, Kingsley, and Tonks. Apparently the Aurors had scoped out the location earlier. Remus appeared in an alley beside Tonks and Mundungus, and waited for some kind of signal or sign of movement.

"The first sign of a Death Eater, take them down," Moody ordered quietly. "No matter what." He eyed Remus, who just glared in return. He knew the Auror's comment had been toward him, but at the moment, he was just focused on what was about to happen.

They waited for about 10 minutes, many of them wondering if Mad-Eye had been led on by Malfoy and Yaxley when a voice shouted into the village square, " _Morsmodre_!"

As the Dark Mark burst into the sky, Moody led the six Order members out into the streets, sending a stunning spell toward the nearest Death Eater. While they were only five of them to their six, they still managed to hold their own as the Order advanced on them. The Death Eaters started to shoot off spells of their own, a few toward the houses that lined the square. Tonks and Bill pulled back to dowse the flames as sounds of screams from inside pieced the air.

Another house was set on fire, and Remus ran to help. He had just started to put out the flames when he was hit with a cutting hex over his right shoulder. Almost dropping his wand, he whipped around and shot a stunning hex toward the Death Eater responsible, who easily dodged it and shot a stream of red sparks toward him. He was able to put up a Shielding Charm before it reached him, and took in that Tonks had run forward and continued to put out the fire he had been fighting.

Throwing another round of hexes and curses, he took in his opponent. They were shorter than the other four in cloaks, and fought with the same grace and speed that he had faced before. He managed to clip her with a cutting hex of his own right about the knee, but it didn't slow the Death Eater down. The person stumbled slightly but managed to shoot off a curse that Remus couldn't make out, but it caused him to lose temporary feeling in his left arm before a burning sensation hit.

Fighting through the pain, he shot a Blasting Curse toward the Death Eater, who had ducked in time as the steam of sparks made contact with the statue in the middle of the village and exploded. The blast knocked them both to their feet, and Remus scrambled to regain his balance. By his feet was the mask of the Death Eater he had been fighting, and when he looked up and felt his entire body freeze.

" _Liz?"_

But it wasn't Liz. The Death Eater standing in front of him just resembled the woman he had once known. Same black hair, same height, same build. Her hair was shorter, and a thin scar ran down her cheek and neck. Like Remus, she had frozen when he said Liz's name, but the shocked look changed to triumph.

Before anybody could do anything, one of the Death Eaters shouted and they started to Disapparate. Remus moved to intervene, but was hit in the stomach with an silent spell. As he picked himself off the ground for the second time and mentally took in the pain that was throbbing in his ribs, he looked around. He tried to register everything that had happened around him, but at the same time there was a small voice in the back of his mind repeating, _She's not alive._

Remus felt like a fool _._

Several houses looked like they had been on fire. The statue that had been in the center of the square was a pile of rubble, and Mad-Eye and Kingsley were doing mass Obliviation Spells. Luckily with the village so close to Hogsmeade, there was a sizable amount of witches and wizards that Remus hadn't noticed, who had tried to aid wherever they could. Holding his left arm, Remus wandered over to where Bill and Tonks were nursing their own wounds and trying to help Mundungus Fletcher from falling over.

"Alright, Bill? Tonks?" he asked.

"Nothing we can't handle," Bill said. "I got hit with some kind of boiling hex on my shoulder, and Tonks thinks she may have broken her wrist."

"Dung was hit with a Reductor Curse, but moved before he was too injured," Tonks explained. "I think it may shattered his ankle though. Kingsley and Mad-Eye are taking care of the muggles, making it seem like a faulty gas explosion or something."

"Are you alright, Remus?" Bill asked. "Your shoulder's soaked with blood."

Remus reached back and gingerly touched where the cutting hex had hit him. He tensed slightly at the pull in his ribs, but replied to Bill, "I'm fine."

"Like hell you are," Tonks replied, shaking her head. "You're holding your left arm, bleeding everywhere, and you're holding yourself like your ribs are killing you."

"Well, I daresay she looks about the same," Remus said. "I hit her with the same curse and she was standing near the fountain when I blew it up."

"That was you?" Tonks said in surprise.

"Wait, 'she'? How do you know the Death Eater was a woman?" Bill asked.

"When the statue exploded, it knocked her mask askew," Remus explained. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I saw her face."

Bill watched him carefully, adjusting Mundungus's weight against his side. "It was her, wasn't it?" he asked.

Remus shook his head. "I thought it was, but I think that's what the Death Eaters wanted me to think," he said. "It's not Liz."

Bill swore softly under his breath and for some reason Tonks was scowling. He yelled to Mad-Eye that they were returning to Headquarters, and linking arms, the four of them thought of the small park outside Number 12 Grimmauld Place and disappeared. The hidden building appeared and helping Bill and Tonks with Mundungus, they made their way inside. Immediately, a couple of people rushed forward. Sirius fought with his mother's portrait as Molly followed her son and the youngest Auror as they led Mundungus up the stairs and most likely into one of the many bedrooms, demanding to know what happened. Sirius and Arthur Weasley helped Remus down the stairs to sit at kitchen, where the werewolf collapsed heavily into a chair at the long table.

"What happened?" Sirius asked. "I thought it was supposed to be five Death Eaters intercepting a message, not a whole bloody battle!"

"Malfoy and Yaxley must have known Moody had been listening," Remus said as Arthur went through the potions cabinet. "They threw the Dark Mark into the sky, and it was war after that. Half of the village was destroyed in some manner, and Mad-Eye and Kingsley were take care of memory charms when we left."

"How many?"

"Five."

"Five Death Eaters did  _this_?" Arthur said incredulously as he handed Remus a pain-reducing potion.

"Well, this," he indicated to his shoulder, ribs, and arm after downing the potion, "was all thanks to the same Death Eater who attacked me last time."

"Was is her?" Sirius asked, watching his best friend carefully.

Remus shook his head, looking completely defeated. "I was so sure it had been Liz, Sirius. When I blew up the village statue, we were both thrown – probably shouldn't have been standing so close to it. The blast...it had knocked her mask away." He paused, closing his eyes at the memory. "Her hair was shorter than Liz would have ever cut it, she had scars over her face and neck, she could have passed as her twin." He opened his eyes and looked at his best friend. "I said her name, and she froze too. But the way she looked at me, that triumphant, evil grin, it was like they had been  _wanting_  us to believe that she was alive. She looked too different. Her eyes..."

His voice faltered and felt a shiver run down his body. He wasn't sure if it were from the wound-cleansing spell Arthur had cast on his shoulder or it was from the way the woman had looked at him. It wasn't a complete secret that Remus had been searching for Liz for years. He was positive that somebody within the Ministry had known that Kingsley had taken her file for him. What better way to destroy members of the Order than to make one think that one of their own was not only alive but working for Voldemort?

"Remus, mate, I think you're in shock," Sirius finally said after a few minutes of silence. "You're shaking."

So he was. Remus raised his hand, trying to steady it, but to no avail. As Sirius went to the potions cabinet that Arthur had been at to find a Calming Draught, there was a rush of footsteps on the stairs and Molly entered the kitchen.

"I've got Mundungus taken care of. He just needed have his ankle mended, so I daresay he'll be stationary for most of tomorrow," she said, sitting a old-style muggle medicine bag on the table. "I also mended Tonks wrist, and took care of Bill's burn."

"I cleaned Remus's shoulder wound the best I could, Molly," Arthur explained. "I also gave him a Pain-Reducing Potion. Since you have the Healer training, I didn't want to do anything else until you looked at it."

Sirius swore loudly. "We're going to have to brew some more Calming Draught, Molly," he called. "Our supplies are out."

"It's already on my list." The red-headed woman said as she opened the bag in front of her. "Poppy Pomfrey had dropped premade ones off a few days ago." She handed a glass to Remus. "Bill's already explained what happened." She conjured some bandages and wrapped his wound the best she could, muttered a spell that started to mend his ribs, and handed him a jar of burn salve. "Apply that twice a day, and it should heal up in a few days. Fred and George are always covered in burns from Merlin knows what, so I keep several jars around."

"Thanks, Molly." Remus managed to give her a small, grateful smile.

Molly returned the gesture (Remus took in the sympathetic look masked behind it), and she and Arthur left, leaving the two Marauders alone. Remus stood wordlessly and put the two glasses into the sink. He knew that Sirius was going to want to talk about what happened, and Remus wasn't up to that right now. He followed after Molly and Arthur and headed to what was quickly becoming his room at Grimmauld Place. Grabbing another pair of robes, he shut the door to the bathroom that was connected to his room and the empty room next to it.

The Calming Draught had made him feel drained, scared, relieved, confused, and for some reason, angry. Even though he tried to register that Liz wasn't alive, it didn't put him at ease in the slightest. He felt like the past 15 years of hope had been for nothing.

It was that thought alone that made Remus want to break.

_Get a grip, Lupin_ , he thought angrily, pulling the clean robes over his head.  _You're 35, not 15. And you're a Gryffindor. Gryffindor's don't cry._

Being mindful of his injuries and ignoring the burning in the corner of his eyes, he returned to his room, not surprised to see Sirius sitting at the edge of the bed. He tossed the robes into his makeshift hamper and sat on the bed, grabbing the burn salve he'd tossed on the table.

"You're positive, then?" Sirius finally asked.

"Positive about what?" Remus popped off the lid and pulled his left robe shoulder up, exposing the tiny blisters that the Burning Hex had caused. Hissing as the salve started to take effect, he covered the wounded area before sitting the salve back down.

"Are you sure it wasn't Liz?"

"Yes." The prickling in the corner of his eyes was burning harder. "She favored Liz's features, but I could tell. And the way she looked when I said Liz's name, it was almost like she had been expecting it." The admission of feeling like everything was a lost cause was starting to feed the anger he was trying to harbor.

"It has been 15 years, Remus. There's the possibility that it had been her. Maybe if she was under the Imperious Curse –"

"The Imperious Curse can be fought off. Liz would have been able to fight it."

"She may not be a Death Eater, Remus, but there's still a chance," Sirius pressed. "You can't give up. Not when we're this close."

"And what if we  _never_  have another lead?" Remus suddenly snapped, and Sirius was taken aback. "She's gone, Sirius. I should have accepted that 15 years ago."

Sirius looked at Remus in shock and then shook his head. "You don't believe that," he said lowly. "I know you don't."

Remus didn't reply, and crossed his arms and stared at the ground. Sirius took it as an obvious dismissal, sighed, and stood up. "You don't know what the Death Eaters did to her, Remus. Whether she's alive or not, you know that you won't be able to fully move on until you find out the truth. You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to her. You can't give up now."

As Sirius shut the door, Remus was torn between wanting to curse Cassie for making Sirius so optimistic and wanting to believe every word his best friend just said.

* * *

After meeting Kingsley, who had came by to check on everybody and to give an update on what was happening, Sirius returned to his own room for the night. Between the raid, Remus discovering Liz wasn't a a Death Eater, and finding out earlier that he may have found his daughter, he had almost forgotten that Harry had been reminded of the Two-Way Mirror until he heard his godson's voice calling his name from his pocket.

Locking his door, he pulled the mirror out and broke into a huge grin. "You finally got my message."

"Yeah. Sorry I forgot about the mirror," Harry's reflection gave him a sheepish look. "Things have been out of control lately."

Sirius immediately grew concerned. "What happened?" he asked.

"Umbridge. She's banned me from future Hogsmeade visits. And she gave me a week of detention."

"What? Why?" Sirius scowled, tempted to visit Dolores Umbridge, escaped convicted be damned.

"I er...may have given an interview to the Quibbler about Voldemort being back," Harry said with a grin.

Sirius stared at him before letting out a bark of laughter. "I'll have Kingsley find a copy of that," he said. "Good show. Lily and James would have been proud."

Harry let his smile grow before it turned to a suspicious look. "Were you the one who broke Snape's nose?" he asked. "Because Ron has been taking bets with Fred and George on it."

"Actually, that was Remus."

Harry looking surprised. " _Remus?_ " he repeated. "Snape must have really hacked him him off for Remus to lose control."

"Oh, he deserved it." Sirius then launched into what had happened since Christmas holidays, from the battles, Remus's discoveries about Liz, how Snape had known about the night she disappeared, and how he may have found his daughter.

Harry had listened to him, his green eyes wide with interest. "So...you may have found your daughter  _and_ Remus thought Liz was alive only to find out she wasn't all over?" He looked awestruck. "I thought OWL year was rough. How is Remus?"

"Not too great at the moment," Sirius admitted. "After 15 years of holding out for a miracle and feeling like it was for nothing, he's still trying to process that information. I'm sure once he's thought about everything and fully calmed down he'll be okay."

"Hermione wanted to help," Harry said. "When I told her and Ron on the way back to Hogwarts, she wanted to see if her parents would help search muggle records, but with our owls being checked, she was afraid something would happen."

Sirius smiled. "Tell her thanks for the offer, at least." Harry nodded. "Now, how are your lessons with Snape going?"

Harry scowled and looked away from the mirror. "They make things worse," he mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked sharply. "If Snape is giving you hell, he'll think Remus breaking his nose was child's play."

"No!" Harry gave him a desperate look. "Don't do anything! I mean, I'm sure it's just a side effect from the lessons, but," he sighed. "My scar...it's just hurting more than usual, that's all."

"That doesn't sound like a side effect," Sirius said. "I'm going to talk to Dumbledore."

"Sirius," Harry shook his head. "I'll be okay."

Sirius eyed him warily but decided to let it slide. "Fine, but if it's still acting off, I'm going to talk to one of them, Harry." The teenager nodded that he understood. "How are things with the DA?"

He couldn't help but smile when his godson's mood brightened. "Actually, they're learning fairly well. Even Neville can pull off a well-enough  _Expelliarmus_! I'm hoping to start on Patronuses next week."

Sirius saw an excitement in Harry's eyes. It was the same look Lily used to get when she learned a new charm or had talked about her plans to work at St. Mungo's when the War was over. It was something he hadn't seen since he promised his godson they would one day live together when he had broke from Azkaban.

"Remus would be proud," he said with a nod. "Merlin knows I am."

Harry grinned, but looked up quickly and swore under his breath. "I'd better go, Sirius. Dean and Seamus just walked in, and Ron's yelling at them. I think he was covering for me."

Sirius sighed, not wanting to give up his chance to finally speak to Harry. "I always have the mirror, okay? And make sure if you're not using it to keep it some place safe and hidden. We don't won't it in the wrong hands."

Harry nodded, and the two said their goodbyes as the mirror went blank. At least he had a way to be close to Harry that wouldn't get them in trouble. Next time maybe Remus could talk to him about the DA. Harry seemed to have a knack for teaching like his best friend did. He placed the mirror on the table by the bed and closed his eyes. After the days events, the animagus was asleep in seconds.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Remus had calmed down considerably. He was still trying to accept everything and he didn't really want to talk much about what he was thinking. He did manage to apologize to Sirius, admitting that he was out of line and didn't mean what he had said. The werewolf spent most of the days afterward in his room, claiming he needed time to process everything. On the second day after the attack and after a quick Order meeting, Dumbledore and Remus finally had their conversation.

"I know that you're angry," Dumbledore started but Remus immediately cut him off.

"I just want to know why," he said, "why did you not think to ask Snape after the war had ended?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Honestly, Remus, I have no valid excuse. By the time the war was over, we'd lost so many people. Elizabeth was just one of many that disappeared. I'm sorry for not allowing you the chance to have closure."

Remus looked at his former Headmaster. "Do you think she may be alive?" he asked, sounding more vulnerable than he'd ever felt.

"It's possible that Voldemort had tried to tamper with Miss Elizabeth's mind. Why he would do that, we may never know. It's possible he saw Liz as the perfect way to spy into the Order. Even though he had managed to successfully infiltrate us with Mr. Pettigrew –" Remus scowled at the name, "there were certain missions and information that Liz could have gotten from you, or the Blacks, or even the Potters that nobody else would have known about. However, before he had the chance to fully take advantage of that, he was vanquished. It is possible that after his downfall the the remaining Death Eaters had left her to her own devices, wiped her memory and forced her to live as a muggle."

"I never looked in muggle records," Remus admitted. "I did in search for Cassie and Robyn, but I never thought about doing the same for Liz." He sat down and put his head in his hands. "Bloody hell, I'm a moron."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Dumbledore said comfortingly. "If you would like, I can have Kingsley look into it. He's close with the muggle Prime Minister, and would know how to get into those files."

"I had been meaning to ask him to do that for Cassie," Remus said. "Sirius had wanted to do the same thing for her and Robyn. But with the activity that's started to happen recently, it hasn't crossed either of our minds."

Dumbledore gave a small smile. "Allow me to help, as a way of apologizing for never trying to talk to Severus about this sooner," he offered.

Remus nodded. "Thank you, Professor. And if we do manage to find her? Will it be too late to revert her memories?"

"I think we can successfully bring her back. If I can not, for whatever reason, I'm sure Severus can."

Remus scowled. "I figured that you would be much better at Legilimacy than him," he grumbled.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, I do," he assured the werewolf. "But there is...talk...if you will, of Dolores Umbridge attempting to find a way to send me to Azkaban. If such event should occur, Severus would be your next bet. I know that Severus and your group of friends have had differences, Remus, but I honestly believe the three of you should let bygones be bygones."

"Honestly, Professor, I've tried," Remus said tiredly. "And Sirius and Severus...well, I daresay you'd have a better chance at having Harry and Draco Malfoy become friends."

"I do believe that Severus will help if the time comes," Dumbledore said, standing up. It was a clear indication that their meeting was over. "We just need to find a way to bring her back to us."

"And if we can't?" Remus hated that he was internally doubting everything.

"Alas, I cannot tell you what the right thing would be in that situation, Remus," he replied heavily.

Remus nodded as Dumbledore exited. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes momentarily, only opening them again when Sirius, Molly, and a few other Order members returned to the kitchen.

"I'm such a fool," Remus said as Sirius sat beside him. "If I thought she was alive, why didn't I look for her in muggle records like I had for Cassie and Robyn? She's bound to hex me every way possible if I ever find her again."

"Don't beat yourself up," Sirius said. "You're only human."

"Technically –"

"Oh shut it," Sirius said with a smile. "I know you're a werewolf, but you're human for majority of the month."

Remus sighed, running an hand over his face. "Maybe I should try to talk to Severus. Dumbledore seems to think he'll be the best person to help unlock her memories if she's been Obliviated."

Sirius scoffed. "Good luck with that," he muttered.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Did Harry ever get your message?" Remus asked. "I can't believe I let that slip my mind for two days."

"Finally. He seemed a bit stressed out. Umbridge has been on a warpath. Oh that reminds me." Sirius called over Kingsley. "Any chance you can find a copy of this month's Quibbler?"

Kingsley smiled. "You heard about Harry's interview, then?" he asked. "I'll see if there's a copy of it in Diagon Alley. Fudge threatened to suspend any employee found with one inside the Ministry. And Dumbledore talked to me, Remus. I'll try to get into the records in the next few days."

As he walked away, Remus gave Sirius and curious look. Sirius explained that Harry had given an interview about Voldemort's return to the Quibbler, and Remus laughed. "Maybe that's what Dumbledore had meant when he said she was trying to find a way to put him in Azkaban," Remus mused. "She probably figured Dumbledore set the interview up. That also explains why old Xenophilius Lovegood was looking like he'd just been named editor of the  _Prophet_  a few weeks back. I ran into him in Diagon Alley after my shift, and the crazy loon was practically beaming with excitement. I figured he'd just finally discovered his precious Crumple-Horned Snorkack at last."

Sirius chuckled. "Harry has apparently been getting loads of support, according to McGonagall. I didn't get the chance to talk long that night."

"Did you tell him everything?" Remus asked.

"I did. He said that Hermione had tried to help us find Cassie. You know, with her parents being muggles and all, but with the letters being checked leaving Hogwarts..."

"Leave it to Hermione," Remus said with a smile. "Nice to see her research habits haven't slowed down since I was their Professor."

"I asked about the DA," Sirius lowered his voice as Molly walked by, saying goodnight to them all. "But he didn't say much. His hallmates showed up at that point. He did say he wanted to start them on Patronuses next."

Remus looked proud. "I'm sure he'll call again soon. Now that he knows about the mirror."

Sirius nodded. "I just hope it doesn't get him into any more trouble."

"He's James Potter's son," Remus laughed. "Trouble usually manages to find him."

Laughing, the two Marauders headed to their own beds, feeling truly optimistic about things for the first time in 15 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know we don't have much information about Molly Weasley. I like to think she had wanted to be a Healer after Hogwarts, but put off having a career to raise her family.
> 
> If there are any questions or suggestions you have, please include them in a review or PM me! Also, I'm on Tumblr all the time, and my Ask box is always open. (Link to said Tumblr is the same handle of AO3). My updates may become further apart, as my job takes a lot of my time! But once I have a complete chapter, I'll post it. Never fear.
> 
> As always, reviews are appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's fairly short compared to some of the chapters I had in the first novel. My chapters usually range between 7 and 12 pages in Microsoft Office using a 12 pt font. I know that's short compared to some, but I have a tendency to ramble if there any longer. This one was only 4. The next one will be longer.
> 
> I figured that Sirius probably told Cassie at some point that he switched secret keepers with Peter. She would have probably figured it out after he stopped going to see Lily and James as much once the switch was made anyway.
> 
> As always, reviews are appreciated and make this writer happy!


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